PG&E: Wind Gusts Will Continue, Prolonging Threat Of Power Outages
SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - Thousands of PG&E customers have been left without power, and the utility warns more power outages could result from high winds that are expected to persist overnight.
The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory through early Monday for the Bay Area and a wind advisory for the interior valleys, Sierra, and some northern mountain areas.
Notable higher-terrain wind gusts today have occurred across northern California.
Winds will decrease late this afternoon and evening with continued gusty winds tonight across Bay Area elevated terrain including Santa Cruz mountains, Sierra, and coastal areas from about San Francisco southward to Big Sur; however, the primary period of peak wind-related outage risk has now passed, the utility says.
PG&E crews are responding to multiple outages Sunday, with crews being moved to the most-affected areas in the East Bay and Central Coast.
As of 4:30 p.m. Sunday, about 800 PG&E employees responded to this weather event, with personnel coming from the Sierra, Sonoma, North Bay, East Bay, San Francisco, Peninsula, Diablo, Stockton, Yosemite, Central Coast, Mission, San Jose, DeAnza and Sacramento divisions, the utility says. As of this evening, there are about 112,000 customers without power due to wind-related outages. The East Bay and the Central Coast have been hit particularly hard.
Crews have restored power to about 240,000 electric customers across the company's service area since midnight Saturday night.
They say they will not call a Public Safety Power Shutoff during this wind event as fuel and soil moisture values remain high due to winter precipitation.
PG&E urges its customers to stay safe and be aware of falling limbs, flying debris, downed power lines, and potentially hazardous driving conditions.